Sometimes there were tears of rage. Once there was even blood. Spain had never beaten Italy in regulation time in seven meetings in a major tournament going into Sunday. The only victory over Italy had come in a penalty-kick in the 2008 Euros quarterfinals when Iker Casillas saved two shots. It is hard to believe that Spain is the great dynasty for one generation in the history of the sport. Not long ago the Spaniards were seen as under-achievers, long on talent but short on will. I've read articles in Spanish papers back in the day with Spanish observors fretting over a litany of losses in the World Cup and the Euros, brooding if there was something wrong with the way people were raising their sons. That blather is over now that Spain is the champion of three straight major tournaments, after the 4-0 drubbing of Italy on Sunday in the Euro final. Even if the last two goals were accomplished while Italy was gassed, and short a player because of injury, it was still an overwhelming victory. Spanish players ran and Spanish players passed, and the lines met at the perfect spot near the goal. We are getting used to this art. It is hard to remember the misery of the past generation. The most painful defeat came in the 1994 World Cup quarterfinals in Foxboro, Mass., when Roberto Baggio scored a late goal for a 2-1 victory. That match ended with Luis Enrique of Spain rolling on the ground after Mauro Tassotti cold-cocked him in the nose with an elbow. The cheap shot from Tassotti remains tied for the most vicious play in World Cup history with West Germany’s Toni Schumacher’s human steamroller hip check that broke the jaw of France’s Patrick Battiston in the 1982 semifinal. In those primitive times of 1994, the lone-ranger referee, Sandor Puhl of Hungary, got no help from his two sideline assistants and no electronic advisory from FIFA Central on a headset. He had missed the play and could only wonder why Luis Enrique’s jersey was suddenly flecked with blood.Two sidelights to that ugly moment: *- By the time FIFA caught up with the play, Italy was through to the finals, and Spain was long gone. But Tassotti received an eight-match suspension for international play, and was never chosen to the Azzurri again. It took Tassotti 17 years to shake hands with Luis Enrique, before a match in Milan last year. *- In the video, as the Spanish players tried to alert the hapless ref what had occurred out of his vision, one Spanish player has the name Nadal on his jersey. It is indeed Miguel Angel Nadal, uncle and one of the great role models for that current Spanish sportsman, Rafael Nadal. And, yes, that is Pep Guardiola, then a Span defender, recently the Barca coach, milling around with other frustrated Spanish players in 1994. The blood of 1994 was ancient history in Kiev on Sunday. Italy has been a perpetual dynasty since winning its first of four World Cups in 1934. It had a good tournament, in the face of soccer scandals back home after a disastrous 2010 World Cup. But after a long and painful path, Spain is now a dynasty. The New York Times is running a Goal blog asking readers how they rank Spain with all sports champions. Here, I want to congratulate Spain for joining the great soccer nations like Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy. Much better to be remembered for rolling past Italy in 2012 than for suffering the cheap shot from Tassotti in 1994. Your comments are welcome about Spain's coming-of-age. .

I was a teenager when Italy beat Spain in 1994. The Tassotti-Luis Enrique affaire chased a generation. That's how we grew up. At the end, we lost.

Before that, it was Mexico 1986. That's really the team from my childhood. A great team that really deserved to win.

One of the games was against Denmark, a really good one back then. I was 6 years old and, due to the time difference, games sometimes were broadcast at night in Spain. I woke up in the middle of the night and I saw my father and my older brother watching the game. Spain won 4-0, but the team lost in the next round. Again, no semifinals.

The summer of 1986 I went to NYC for the first time. Everybody talked about the Mets. Love the team since then.

Thanks for the writing.

c.

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George Vecsey

7/1/2012 01:18:20 pm

con mucho gusto -- GV

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Alan Rubin

7/2/2012 05:28:20 am

George

An accurate summary of the game! Although Spain controlled most of the first half play, Italy played well enough to still be a threat until they were down a man.

FIFI should allow an injured player to be replaced once all three substitutions have been utilized. It is one thing to send a player off for an infraction of the rules, but it is particularly harsh to be penalized for an injury. I do not think that a team would remove a player in a critical point in a game by faking an injury.

I had some hope for FIFI doing the right think when Blatter announced last week that goal line technology would be adapted. Now EUFA is seeking to delay it’s use.

I look forward to the soccer history lessons on your posts. I started playing and following soccer in 1948 in Junior High School. I do not remember why, but I started following Manchester United and Real Madrid. Later, I added Barcelona and the Ghanaian national team to the list.

You can probably help with the details as my memory of the following is a bit hazy. These events probably occurred in the 60 or 70’s.

The Spanish national team was refused landing rights in Spain after losing an international match.

Real Madrid was the perennial power then and the team was killed in a plane crash. As a memorial gesture from the other teams, an inferior team completed the schedule to win the league.

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Brian Savin

7/3/2012 12:25:19 pm

Happy 4th to all!

In all honesty, it was a lousy game and it demonstrated why the sport has relatively small support here. There is zero opportunity and, more importantly, zero fan expectation that a professional team can overcome a three goal lead in the second half, let alone four, and next to zero that it can overcome even a two goal lead going into the second half. Go ahead and hit me, but game as it is played simply doesn't permit sufficient offense. The phony injuries on non contact is another matter that irritates Americans (at least me) no end. I would urge this open-minded group to try rugby - a truly great sporting event.

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George Vecsey

7/3/2012 03:24:15 pm

Brian, Man City scored twice in injury time to win the league this year. And Man U scored twice very late to beat Bayern n the Champions League final in 1999. AC Milan was up three to nil (as they say) on Liverpool in 2005...and drew 3-3 and won on PKs. US scored in the final seconds againt Algeria in 2010. WC..Any soccer fan watching that Euro final knew that stuff. Obviously, when Motta got hurt, Italy was done, against a superior team. Spain was so superior, that its edge was part of the match. GVt

Interest in soccer in the US will not be affected by the result of one international match. George correctly indicated many of the exciting games just this year alone. I’d like to add that Manchester United lost the Premier League Championship well before the last weekend of play during stoppage time in two earlier games. In both instances, they lost two goal leads to gain tie. Collectively, they gave up four stoppage goals in a space of about four minutes. One less goal and Manchester City’s stoppage time heroics would not have been necessary.

If boring games were the criteria for continued fan interest, all major US sports should have suffered. The many boring Super Bowl games have not appeared to have an adverse effect upon fan interest. The same is true for playoffs in other sports.

In order to enjoy any sport, as well as most things in general, it is helpful to have a general understanding. Although I do not expect soccer in the US to eventually be on par with football, baseball basketball and possibly hockey, it has continually grown in popularity.

Soccer fans enjoy the sport for the beauty of the game as much as its result. In the dullest of games there are always electrifying moments.

Like this way of summarizing the Spain’s football match and no one can accurately brief the event other than you .And it is sad to realize the fact that the injured player is not replaced with the substitution.

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Coach Joe Mihalich, center, runs practice

OLD JOCKS CHEERMy Hofstra pals went to a practice -- and later the new players won a thriller near buzzer. ​Please see:https://nationalsportsmedia.org/news/my-alma-mater-thrills-some-old-players-